Page 80 of Hard Rock Desires

And the way they had jumped apart when Zain told them to get a room had been interesting.

“But if we do two duets, that means Kaylee and Chris are the only ones who don’t get a chance to shine,” Finn pointed out.

“I don’t need one,” Kaylee said. “I’m happy for an excuse to take a break mid-way through.”

“Chris?” Micah prompted.

“I’m cool with it, too,” Chris said with an easy shrug.

The only band member I couldn’t get a read on was the rhythm guitarist, Chris. He was friendly and all smiles, but he didn’t join in on discussions unless specifically asked, and always kept to the edge of the group. I remembered Zain telling me he had joined them last. Maybe he was still feeling out of place. I imagined it had to be hard to integrate yourself into an already tight-knit band.

Although it was entertaining to watch them work, eventually they came to a stop. When I looked at the time, I was surprised to see how many hours had passed.

“Why don’t we call it quits for the day?” Micah said.

“I’m hungry,” Kaylee piped up.

“Pizza?” Finn suggested.

“Are you buying?” Kaylee replied.

“No pineapple,” Zain cut in.

“Pineapple on half,” Finn countered.

“Just get more than one pizza,” Kaylee said.

“Areyoubuying?” Finn retorted.

The group of them put their instruments away and filed out of the room, still arguing over toppings. I think they had forgotten I was even there. Or at least, they didn’t feel self-conscious around a stranger, because they bickered and taunted each other while Zain stayed behind.

“Sorry, that went longer than usual,” he said. “I hope you weren’t bored.”

“Not at all,” I replied. “It was really interesting.”

“Was it?” he asked, bemused. “We spent more time arguing about songs than playing them.”

“That’s what was so interesting,” I said. “It was like watching a nature documentary. Musicians in their natural habitat.”

“I don’t know how I feel about that comparison,” he said.

“Should I have compared you to reality TV instead?” I asked.

“We don’t have what it takes to be reality TV stars,” he said. “We’re only interesting on stage. Off-stage we’re pretty boring.”

“I would never call you boring,” I told him. But it was the perfect segue into something I’d wanted to ask about. “Anya is so cool on stage, but she seemed very quiet today.”

“She’s actually pretty shy.” Zain took a seat on the sofa next to me and curled a knee under himself. “She’s always on fire when she performs, but because she has trouble with strangers, she sometimes comes off as unfriendly in real life. People think she’s cold or stuck up, but they’re dead wrong. She’s the most caring out of all of us once she gets to know you.” His lips curved into a fond smile as he looked over at the microphone stand. “We like to tease that if Micah is the dad of the group, then Anya is the mom.”

“A mom who wears black leather and lace corsets on stage, and oversized hoodies off stage,” I said. “You do like to use a lot of family metaphors.”

“Because they are my family,” he replied.

“Even Chris?” I asked.

“Of course,” Zain said, looking surprised that I’d even questioned it. “If Anya and Micah are the parents, and Kaylee is the little sister, then Chris is kind of like our cousin. He wasn’t part of the band from the beginning, but we knew him from our youth center days. When we realized we needed a second guitarist, Chris was the obvious choice.”

I had to wonder if Chris knew that Zain felt that way about him. It might have been something the new addition to the band needed to hear.